


Panic Attack

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:28:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26626735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Zack gets a panic attack, and asks Alex to help him through it.
Kudos: 5





	Panic Attack

“Alex, it’s close to midnight, what on earth are you still up for?” Alex’s mom asked, as she walked into Alex’s bedroom curious as to why his light was still on.  
“Oh, hey mom, I didn’t mean to stay up this late, but I had a lot of school stuff to get done, and the time just kind of got away from me,” Alex replied.  
“Well, I’m glad you’ve gotten a lot of work done, but try to get to sleep soon. I know you have practice after school tomorrow, so you need your rest,”  
“I know, and I’m going to finish up what I’m working on, and then will be in bed within the next ten minutes, I promise,”  
“Sounds good. Have a good night, Alex,”   
Alex’s mom shut his door as she walked out, leaving Alex with the chemistry homework he’d been working on. Normally, he didn’t stay up so late to do homework, but the band had been having practice much more frequently, which made finding the time to get all of his assignments done was quite the task.   
Alex quickly answered the last two questions he had left, then packed up his backpack, so it’d be ready for school. Once that was done, Alex got ready to go to sleep, and he brought his phone with him before climbing into his bed. He started to mindlessly scroll through social media, feeling his eyes starting to get heavy from being tired.   
As he yawned, he felt his phone vibrate, which surprised him, since most of his friends usually weren’t up so late on a school night.  
Zack: Hey, are you up?  
Alex: Yeah, I was finishing up some chemistry shit, what’s up?  
Zack: I have a really big favor to ask.  
Alex: What is it?  
Zack: I think I’m having a panic attack. Please come over.  
Alex felt some anxiety pool in his stomach; he really wanted to help his friend, but it was late, and he didn’t want to get in trouble with his mom for going out so late.  
Alex: Is there any way I could help you through the phone? It’s kind of late. Just try to get calm and breathe.  
Zack: I can’t calm down. I can’t breathe. I need you here. Please.  
Alex took a deep breath, knowing that this was too important for him to stay home.  
Alex: Okay, I’ll be there ASAP.  
After getting out of bed, Alex slid his phone into the pocket of his sweatpants, and grabbed his backpack, figuring he’d just spend the night at Zack’s when everything was okay again. he grabbed his wallet and some clothes for the next day and decided that he was ready to go.   
Alex was almost positive that if he went out the front or back doors, his mom would catch him and not let him leave, even though his was important, so he decided to sneak out of his room by climbing out of the window, which was conveniently right over where his car was parked. While he’d never done this, Jack had snuck in through the window before, so Alex figured that it had to be safe.   
He opened up the window as quietly as he could, then started to climb through it. There was a tree that he had to climb down, but once he was about halfway down, he lost his footing, and fell to the ground.  
“Fuck, that’s harder than I thought it would be,” Alex mumbled to himself, noticing that his left arm felt a bit sore.   
He did his best to ignore this as he quickly went over to his car and got in it. Once he was ready, Alex pulled out of the driveway, and started on his way to Zack’s house.   
As he drove, Alex felt very concerned for his friend; he knew that Zack struggled with anxiety some, but he was pretty sure that this was his first panic attack. Alex actually got these quite frequently, which he figured was why Zack had asked him to come over in the first place.   
Eventually, he pulled into Zack’s driveway, and saw that his parents’ cars were there, so he grabbed his phone.  
Alex: Here, should I go to the front door?  
Zack: No, my parents don’t know you’re here. Come through my window, it’s the one on the side of the house with the light.  
“Another damn window,” Alex muttered, as he grabbed his backpack, and went over to the side of the house that Zack’s room was on. He was thankful that Zack’s house was only one story, so he wouldn’t have to do anymore climbing that night.   
When he got to Zack’s window, he saw Zack sitting completely still on his bed with a terrified look on his face, so he quickly got the window opened, and carefully climbed in through it.  
“Hey, I’m here now. How’re you feeling?” Alex asked, dropping his backpack, and sitting next to Zack on his bed.  
“Not good, I don’t know how to get out of this,” Zack replied in a shaky voice, as tears started to run down his face.  
“You’re going to be okay, I promise. Look at me. Look at me and breathe, watch me. Inhale and hold, then exhale. Try to keep doing that with me,” Alex instructed, helping Zack sit up some.   
He exaggerated his breathing so Zack could have an easier time following it. For the first couple of breath cycles, Zack followed Alex perfectly, until his breathing started to speed up again.  
“Alex, I- I can’t-“  
“Yes you can, you’ve got this, man. Close your eyes and just listen to my breaths. We’re gong to go super slow, until you start to feel like you have more control,” Alex explained, wrapping his arm around Zack, hoping the physical comfort would help him.   
The two of them began to breathe at the same pace, to Alex’s relief. Zack skipped a couple of cycles, but Alex could tell that Zack was starting to regain his self-control.  
“You’re doing great. Now, while still breathing intently, I want you to open your eyes, and list five things that you can see,”  
“Um, you, my bed, the desk, my math textbook, and my phone,” Zack listed, his voice sounding much more stable now.  
“Great! Now, list four things you can touch,”  
“My bed, my clothes, the floor, and your arm,”  
“Next, list three things you hear,” Alex continued.  
“Your voice, my breathing, and the air conditioner,”   
“Cool, now two things you can smell,”  
“The candle my mom lit earlier, and the cologne I used today,”  
“Okay, last thing, what’s one thing you can taste?”  
“The snack I had not that long ago,” Zack finished, sounding much calmer now.  
“Keep taking deep breaths for as long as you need to. You sound better, but what really matters if you feel better,” Alex explained.   
Zack continued to take deep breaths for a few more minutes, then eventually looked up at Alex.  
“How’re you feeling?”  
“A lot better, thank you so much for coming here, I would still be feeling terrible or even worse if you hadn’t,” Zack admitted.  
“No problem at all, man, I’m glad you feel better. If you don’t mind me asking, do you know what caused that panic attack? That was your first one, right?” Alex asked.  
“A bunch of things, I guess. I was stressed about school, then saw some stuff on the news, and I think that’s really what set it off. I get anxious sometimes, but I’ve never had something like that happen before, it was scary,” Zack confessed, sounding a bit embarrassed.  
“I know, panic attacks are always scary, that feeling never goes away. I’m glad you asked me to come here, instead of just letting yourself continue to spiral. When your anxiety starts to spike, it can be hard to do much of anything, so it’s really good that you were able to text me,”  
“Thanks for responding, it really means a lot. I’m sorry I made you drive over here so late at night, but I think you’re really the only person who could’ve helped me, since you deal with this, too,”  
“It’s no problem at all, dude. I’m glad I could help you some. You can always reach out if you’re feeling yourself spiral into a panic attack, and I’ll do my best to help you through it. This shit sucks, but it’s a hell of a lot easier to get through when you have people who care about you by your side,” Alex said, making them both smile.  
“You’ve got that right. Hey, do you want to spend the night, since it’s late?” Zack offered.  
“Sure, that would be great. I really don’t want to sneak back into my house through my window,” Alex replied, making them both laugh.  
“Understandable, where do you want to sleep?”  
“I’m fine on the floor, if you have a blanket and a pillow,”  
“I definitely do,” Zack got up, and grabbed an extra blanket out of his closet, and gave it to Alex, along with a pillow from his bed.   
Alex quickly set up his spot on the floor, as Zack turned out the light, before getting into his bed.  
“If you start to feel bad again throughout the night, just wake me up,” Alex offered as he got comfortable.  
“I will, thank you for coming here. I really don’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t,”  
“No problem. Get some rest, that’ll help you feel better, too,” Alex said, closing his eyes.   
After a few minutes, Zack could hear Alex lightly snoring, and he felt himself slowly starting to drift off to sleep. Even though the night had been a lot for him, he felt lucky to have such a wonderful friend like Alex, who he knew he could always count on.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I got this idea from a quote prompt! I've had this idea on my list for a while, and finally decided to write it! Please send in requests if you have them! Lots of love, Liv.


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